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Mary Jane (candy)
Mary Jane is an old-fashionedtaffy-type candy made from peanut butter and molasses. First marketed in 1914, Mary Jane has remained in production for over a century save for a two-year pause when its ownership changed hands. HistoryIn the 1800s, molasses was a popular confectionery ingredient for making taffy, with many candy companies situated in and around Boston, Massachusetts, then a major port in the molasses trade. These included the New England Confectionery Company (better known as Necco} in Cambridge, the Austin T. Merrill Company in Roxbury, and Charles H. Miller and Sons who began operating out of the former North End residence of Paul Revere starting in 1884.[1] in 1914, Charles H. Miller's son, Charles N. Miller, developed the formula for a taffy-like candy that mixed peanut butter into the molasses for a softer texture than earlier candies.[2] Miller chose to call his candy "Mary Jane," citing that it was the name of his favorite aunt while also choosing a cartoon mascot who resembled a character of the same name that appeared in the popular Buster Brown comic strip at that time. Mary Janes were wrapped in yellow wax paper brandished with a single red stripe and originally sold as penny candies under the slogan, “Use your change for Mary Janes.”[3] The Mary Jane Logo—a cartoon girl clad in a yellow dress a bonnet and yellow dress with the candy's name emblazoned across the hem—has remained in tact since the product's inception.[4] Inn 1989, the Wisconsin-based Stark Candy Company acquired Miller's holdings and began producing Mary Janes until Stark was bought out by Necco in 2008, effectively returning the candy's production to Massachusetts.,[5] When Necco filed for bankruptcy in 2018, the company's various brands were auctioned off a la carte and no buyer was immediately found for Mary Janes.[6][7] Necco's purchaser, Spangler Candy Company, thus retained rights to the Mary Jane brand had no plans to make the candy. In 2019, the Atkinson Candy Company entered a licensing agreement with Spangler and renewed production of Mary Janes starting in 2020.[8] In popular cultureMary Jane candies, and their cartoon mascot, are featured in Toni Morrison’s 1970 novel, The Bluest Eye.[4] References
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